1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flashlights and, more particularly, to a portable metal halide are discharge flashlight utilizing electronic circuitry, a light diffuser, and an adjustable lens.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Handheld flashlights generally utilize tungsten filaments to produce their light. Such lights are limited in their brightness due to the fact that incandescent tungsten can produce only so many lumens per watt of power. More recent evolution flashlights, employing high-tech design, utilize highly loaded tungsten halogen lamps with high efficiency reflectors to produce a higher light output. While these flashlights can produce a bright light in spotlight mode, they cannot produce alternatively a wide, even field, bright floodlight beam. Since the light from the incandescent tungsten element radiates light in the longer part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the light from a tungsten element tends to be more yellow than daylight, and it is therefore more difficult to see by. Therefore, there is a need for a flashlight that can produce more light emitting lumens per watt of power at a higher color temperature with a more even and variable field of illumination than the present high-tech tungsten halogen flashlights.
A typical metal halide lamp is over three times brighter than a comparable tungsten filament light. These lamps have long been used for special lighting purposes such as spotlights in theaters. An important feature of such a lamp is that there is no filament to break if a metal halide lamp is dropped. There are numerous different types of metal halide lamps in use, but until the present invention, none of the designs were capable of being reduced in size to typical flashlight proportions.